World Bulletin / News Desk

At least 50 rebels, mostly Uzbeks, have been killed after Pakistan army jets pounded suspected hideouts in different parts of troubled North Waziristan, according to army officials.

The aircraft struck eight rebel hideouts in the towns of Boya, Dattakhel and Degan on Saturday, and a huge cache of arms and ammunition was also destroyed, reported the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), widely regarded as a mouthpiece of the Pakistan Army.

The air strikes were seen by observers as a tit-for-tat response to last week's attack on Karachi airport in which 30 people were killed.

Continuous air strikes in the region have led to a mass migration from the target areas, and about 40,000 Waziris now live in adjacent districts of Bannu, Karak, and Lakki Marwat, while about 6,000 Waziris have migrated to neighboring Afghanistan.

North Waziristan is regarded as a bastion of the powerful Haqqani network which has been blamed for carrying out attacks on foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan.